waiter
wait·er/ˈweɪ̯təː/noun, verb
waiter is spelled W-A-I-T-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (wait·er). It appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, waiter means “A male or female attendant who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant, café or similar” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of waiter is waiters.
How many letters and syllables are in waiter?
| Letters | 6: W-A-I-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: wait·er |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is waiter?
Waiter appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce waiter?
- UK /ˈweɪ̯təː/
- UK [ˈweɪ̯tʰəː]
- /ˈwæɪ̯təː/
Waiter has 2 syllables, split wait·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-waiter.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with waiter?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as waiter from its last stressed vowel (/eɪtə/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of waiter
- waiters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- waitering participle, present
- waitered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does waiter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A male or female attendant who serves customers at their tables in a restaurant, café or similar.
Waiter! There's a fly in my soup.
- 2
Someone who waits for somebody or something; a person who is waiting.
- 3
A person working as an attendant at the London Stock Exchange.
- 4
obsoleteA vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a salver. (See etymology of dumbwaiter.)
- 5
obsoleteA custom house officer; a tide waiter.
- 6
obsoleteA watchman.
verb
- 1
To work as a waiter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Waiter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | serveur, serveuse |
| German | Kellner, Kellnerin , Wartender, Wartende |
| Portuguese | empregado, garçom |
| Spanish | camarero, garzón, mesero, mesonero, mozo , esperador |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does waiter come from?
From late 14th century Middle English waiter, wayter (“attendant, watchman”). By surface analysis, wait + -er. Sense of "servant who waits at tables" is from late 15th century, originally in reference to household servants; in reference to inns, eating houses, etc., it is attested from 1660s. Feminine form waitress first recorded 1834. The London Stock Exchange sense harks back to the early days of trading in coffee-shops.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).